Buried Treasure Post..

Participating in Seth Apter's 'Buried Treasure"

http://www.thealteredpage.blogspot.com/

I was surprised to learn I have been blogging 4 years!

3 years ago..I think... I was commissioned by "Laura Ingels Homestead" living museum located in De Smet South Dakota...I did three styles of boxes for them that year, this was my favorite though.

The "painting" is an elixir created from crushed glass, pigments and flux. Fired in the kiln, the "paint" becomes new glass...as the image fuses into the glass substrate...the boxes were constructed using bevels for the bottoms sides and an antique glass for the painted parts, lid and bottom. The solder lines were sculpted to finish the box decoratively.

Thank you for sharing this moment and helping me participate with Seth's collaboration.

Solder Sculpting Day 2 Studio!

The beauty of solder sculpting..is you do NOT have to be such a great solderer with the solder lines

such as for a large area on a panel or expressly for box making, or many small projects kaleidoscope's as another example.

Making boxes is a lot of trial and error...even after you finally get the box construction down

many don't go together so perfect...answer to this

is decorating the seams and lids

to take focus off a not so great soldering job!

Now..i have been soldering forever!!...my seams aren't so much a problem for me..but

i do not like a boring plain box...make it unique..give it personality...sculpt something on it

bring it to life...

these same techniques are excellent for small things ...like those microscope slide pendants I see sported all around...decorate the edges and give them additional flare...clean up some of the soldering by finishing the edge off with a pretty edge...without having to purchase extra stuff!

Learn it yourself!!!

Here is a box I constructed today with flowers on the lid...this one I am going to instruct in the video...I think it is very doable for any level...

You shall see the flowers and a dragonfly (in the upper right corner)...what gives the imagery its personality is finishing it with patina, or you wouldn't see all the great crags and strokes and dots...

Thank you for dropping by I appreciate every visitor

Have a terrific day/evening

A WHOLE Studio Day!!!!!

I had the WHOLE day for my studio...
so I built a box..
perhaps this little Octopus might be part of the decorative soldering magic series I plan to offer...I am not sure yet...he isn't "difficult" to accomplish...I think...I need to run it past someone who hasn't ever soldered in such a fashion before I decide...




This is how he began...a blob of wire...in my mind he is sitting on a corner of rock..






There are all kinds of crustacean embedded within
oysters, clams, fish, seaweeds...a mermaid and a lobster




I thought I had picked a picture with them showing but I didn't...they were sort of blurry anyway..

I hope you think he is cute...I enjoyed the day creating him

:)

New Box Work

I had Janet do some paint practice on the mermaid lid. She practiced her fusing with the other 2 lids. I finished the boxes but, soon she is going to learn decorative soldering to add to her skills.